"While the legislation will help employers hire staff before full criminal record checks have been completed, there will still be robust safeguards and monitoring arrangements in place to ensure that all applications are suitable for the positions to which they are appointed."

Hugh Miskelly, a spokesman for a group of NI care homes, said applicants employed under the temporary arrangement must be constantly supervised.

"It means that you can't employ the people you need to provide the service that elderly people require and I think that's disgraceful," he said.

While the temporary legislation is in place, Access NI is currently working to reduce the time it takes to complete the vetting process from 10 weeks to four.

Mary Field from Youth Net, an umbrella body which works on behalf of over 70 youth groups across Northern Ireland, said it was "too late" for organisations wanting to run summer schemes.

"One had got funding to run a summer scheme for 35 young people with and without disabilities. In fact those 35 young people have been denied that experience.

"We would have raised our voices much higher if we thought so many young people were going to lose out," she said.